Champlain Cable announced that it has entered into a distribution partnership with Cameron Connect to service the North American rail transit market.

A press release said that Cameron Connect is now a partner distributor stocking Champlain Cable’s EXRAD-Rail™ line of wire and cable products for the rail market. “This partnership provides OEMs and sub-suppliers with quick-turn access to Champlain’s rail transit approved wire and cable products for use on rail cars and locomotives,” noted Richard Trahan, vice president of business development at Champlain Cable.

Cameron Connect, founded in 2010, is a master supplier of leading brands of wire, cable and accessories for the renewable, steel and transit markets. Champlain Cable Corporation manufactures irradiation cross-linked wire and cable for harsh environments in the rail, automotive, commercial vehicle, UL/CSA, military shipboard and specialty data communication markets.

Champlain Cable has manufacturing plants in El Paso, Texas, and in Colchester, Vermont, its base.

Essex Furukawa reports that three of its North American facilities in Indiana have successfully completed The Copper Mark Assurance Process and meet its relevant standards.

A press release said the operations include plants in Fort Wayne and Franklin as well as the Metals Processing Center in Columbia City. The assurance process involved a comprehensive evaluation of each plant’s operations, including its social practices and governance with criteria that included environmental standards, community health and safety requirements, equality practices, and employee work conditions.

“I share in the excitement across our North American teams, at each of these locations, for achieving The Copper Mark,” said Essex Furukawa North America President Jared Rowntree. “It is a significant step for our entire organization as well as the industry.”

The Copper Mark is a globally recognized standard for responsible copper production. It demonstrates the company’s commitment to sustainable practices and responsible sourcing of copper. “By meeting the stringent requirements and successfully passing a third-party assessment at three of its facilities, Essex Furukawa reaffirms its dedication to environmental stewardship and social responsibility that was set in place by its Vision 2030 initiative.”

“Having worked closely with these teams for the better part of the last two years to meet The Copper Mark criteria—and now completing the Assurance Process—is very rewarding for everyone involved,” said Austin Robinson, global corporate sustainability manager at Superior Essex, who was singled out for his efforts with the teams.

Essex Furukawa notes that it started the process in June 2022 and was the first magnet wire manufacturer to participate and achieve the Assurance Process.

LS Eco Energy, a subsidiary of South Korea’s LS Cable and System, has obtained safety certification for underground residential distribution (URD) power cables from UL, a prominent U.S. safety certification organization.

A press release said that, with the UL certification, the comany plans to expand its export product range for the U.S., adding to its existing line of LAN (UTP) cables. “We expect this certification to play a critical role in expanding our presence in the U.S. market and enhancing our competitiveness in the global power cable market,” said LS Eco Energy CEO Lee Sung-ho.

The company, in collaboration with LS Cable America, intends to ramp up marketing efforts targeting power plant construction companies and power authorities to accelerate its market penetration. The URD power cables are primarily used in various distribution networks connecting solar power plants and data centers (IDCs), both of which have seen strong demand. Also boosting demand is recently imposed high  U.S. tariffs on Chinese aluminum that has led to a surge in sales of aluminum conductor URD cables from non-Chinese sources.

Due to the U.S.’s policy of excluding Chinese products, the LAN cables produced at LS Eco Energy’s Ho Chi Minh manufacturing subsidiary, LSCV, saw over a 30% increase in exports to the U.S. in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.

Under the global umbrella brand of “Metalflow Alliance,” Germany’s Messe Düsseldorf  will represent seven of its trade shows as part of two co-located Saudi Arabia trade events in May 2025.

A press release said that the Messe will be at two Saudi trade fairs—Metal & Steel Saudi Arabia and Saudi Projects—May 5-7, 2025, the Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center. There, the event organizer will present “news and trends” from the following trade fairs: wire, Tube, VALVE WORLD EXPO and GIFA (foundry), METEC (metallurgy), THERMPROCESS (thermo processing)  and NEWCAST (castings). 

Described as the leading trade fairs of the Saudi construction industry, Saudi Projects premiered in Riyadh in 2024 while the Metal & Steel trade fair already has a successful track record. Both trade fairs are organized by AGEX, the Arabian German International Exhibitions, in Riyadh. 

 The Metalflow Alliance will complement the Saudi trade fair duo. The joint trade fair date creates valuable synergies for exhibitors and visitors at all three events.

 Metal & Steel and Saudi Projects are among the most important regional events and supply machines, systems, products and services for the rapidly growing demand in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government is pursuing ambitious infrastructure goals, which are formulated and driven by Vision 2030. Significant investments are being made to transform the economy of Saudi Arabia, which has been described as booming.

 Technologies and products from Metalflow Alliance exhibitors could soon become part of the economic diversification in Saudi Arabia. “The transformation of Saudi Arabia’s economy offers our metal trade fair exhibitors very promising opportunities to enter the Saudi market and, hence, plenty of potential for the coming years,” said Daniel Ryfisch, director of the wire, Tube & Flow Technologies portfolio at Messe Düsseldorf.

South Korea’s LS Cable & System (LS C&S) has accused Taihan Electric Wire (TEW) of technology theft related to the design and layout of its new submarine cable manufacturing equipment.

Per multiple media reports, LS C&S claimed that TEW illicitly obtained the design and layout of LS Cable & System’s specialized equipment used in the production of submarine cables. Those are important as making and moving cables that can span tens of km and weigh thousands of tons reflect the company’s expertise that is a key part of its intellectual property.

The disagreement reached a new level on July 11, when police considered TEW as a suspect for violating the “Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act” and conducted a raid on its headquarters. A statement by LS C&S stated that the “theft of technology by Taihan Electric Wire is a clear criminal act,” and declared that if the allegations are proven true, the company will pursue all legal actions.

At issue was whether information about the floor plan that LS C&S had provided an architectural firm that later worked for TEW was improperly passed along. TEW recently held the official opening of a new submarine cable plant in the Godae district of the Asan National Industrial Complex in Dangjin-si, Chungcheongnam-do, and now plans to build a second such plant there that will be completed in 2026, and operational in 2027.

TEW issued a statement denying the allegations. “(Our) submarine cable factory layout is not a core technology, and there is absolutely no reason to secure a competitor’s layout and drawings for the purpose of technology theft.” It countered that LS S&C has a monopoly in South Korea, and that the country needs to have more competition to protect its market from foreign companies.

Prysmian has signed a  €450 million finance contract with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to facilitate electricity transmission and distribution in Europe.

A press release said that the funds will go towards manufacturing extra-high-voltage submarine power cables and high-voltage onshore cables, and other upgrades to existing cables to promote European energy transition. They will be used for operations in Finland, Italy and France that serve the growing demand for renewable energy in general and offshore wind in particular.

The EIB, a long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States, provides long-term financing for sound investments that contribute to EU policy. Prysmian will use the EIB funds to build new production lines for extra-high-voltage submarine cables, lines for high-voltage onshore cables and other technical improvements to existing lines.The EIB-financed investment will enable Prysmian to double its production capacity for extruded cables at its three factories in Pikkala (Finland), Pozzuoli (Italy) and Gron (France) from around 2 000 km a year to over 4 000 km a year. It would also create new jobs.

“This (initiative) will help to meet EU targets for clean energy transmission via submarine cable solutions and long-distance interconnections, improving the integration and efficiency of renewable energy.” The time frame and procedures are still being defined.

The release said that the project was in line with the EIB’s climate action and environmental sustainability goals and the REPowerEU framework, which the EU bank has committed to support with €45 billion of additional investment by 2027. Almost half of the operations covered by the agreement will take place in cohesion regions such as Campania in Italy and Burgundy in France, thereby helping to address regional economic disparities and promoting more balanced and inclusive economic development.

This contract follows previous agreements between Prysmian and the EIB, which has backed Prysmian’s R&D work across Europe, including its production centres of excellence. In the past five years, the EIB Group has provided more than €58 billion in financing for projects in Italy.

“We are proud that the EIB is supporting our commitment to help build additional capacity to meet the growing demand for clean energy across the continent,” said Prysmian CEO Massimo Battaini. “This new step forward shows how the European Union is aware of the essential role our company has in achieving this transition.”

NKT has confirmed that it will be a partner for two Scottish power cable projects with SSEN Transmission.

A press release said that last August, NKT had confirmed that it had reserved production and offshore installation capacity for a venture of Scottish transmission system operator (TSO) SSEN Transmission. The company plans to build two high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission links running from the Western Isles to the Scottish mainland, and from Spittal in Caithness to Peterhead.

NKT has now signed a framework agreement with SSEN Transmission, and the parties have agreed to proceed with initial work for the two interconnectors issued under the framework agreement. The project will support the decarbonization of the power system in Great Britain.

The limited notice to proceed with the projects reflects the exceptional collaboration with SSEN Transmission on interconnector projects like the Caithness-Moray HVDC Link and the ongoing Shetland HVDC Link, said Darren Fennell, EVP & Head of HV Solutions Karlskrona in NKT.

The Western Isles and Spittal-Peterhead offshore HVDC transmission links are part of The Pathway to 2030 Holistic Network Design (HND) which is a major upgrade of the electricity transmission network across Great Britain. SSEN Transmission plays a central role in executing on the HND, supporting the journey to meet UK and Scottish Governments 2030 renewable energy and climate change targets. The HND sets out a single, integrated grid design that supports the large-scale delivery of electricity generated from offshore wind.

The Western Isles cable route is approximately 160 km of 525 kV HVDC with a transmission link capacity of 1.8 GW. The Spittal-Peterhead cable route is approximately 220 km of 525 kV HVDC with a transmission link capacity of 2.0 GW. Both projects include on- and off-shore route length, and are scheduled for completion in the first half of 2026.

Southwire announced that it will close its facilities in Santa Fe Springs, Rancho Cucamonga, and Livermore, California as well as reduce some staff as the company continues to realign itself.

A press release said operations will cease at the Livermore and Santa Fe Springs facilities on Oct. 1, 2024, and at the Rancho Cucamonga facility on Nov. 1, 2024. Operations from each of the impacted facilities will be relocated to other existing Southwire locations.

Since 2005, Southwire’s Rancho Cucamonga Customer Service Center (CSC) has served as the company’s primary location for supporting Infrastructure products and Electrical Products and Engineered Solutions (EP&ES) on the west coast. In 2020, Southwire acquired Construction Electrical Products (CEP) and the Livermore facility, further contributing to its EP&ES growth. The company’s Santa Fe Springs facility has primarily supported EP&ES for the west coast since 2019.

“As we work toward improving our customer experience, we must optimize our distribution and manufacturing networks to attain best in class customer service,” said Aaron Asher, Southwire’s senior vice president of Customer Experience. “By leveraging our geographic locations and taking full advantage of our existing network of facilities, we will be positioned to more readily and effectively meet our customers’ needs throughout North America.”

In addition to these facility closures and updates, Southwire has responded to the shifting market conditions by reducing the number of sales and support roles that support the EP&ES business. Impacted persons will be able to apply for open positions within the business.

“The decision to close these facilities, as well as to adjust our staffing in EP&ES, was not made lightly, and it is not a reflection of our team members,” said Peter Lugo, senior vice president of EP&ES. “We would like to thank these team members for their years of service, and we will ensure that those impacted by this decision are treated with dignity and respect throughout the transition.” 

Prysmian announces that it has completed the acquisition of Encore Wire Corporation that had been announced on April 14.

A press release said that the acquisition will strengthen Prysmian’s leadership position in North America. Prysmian will benefit from enhanced cross-selling opportunities, as well as the efficiency and innovation within Encore Wire’s unique production, distribution process and service levels. The transaction also strengthens the weight of the North American business in Prysmian’s geographical footprint.

The combined business will be well-positioned to accelerate the electrification and digital transformation in North America, which includes the growth of data centres and upgrades to the power grid. 

“This acquisition will significantly strengthen Prysmian’s leadership position in North America while creating value for all stakeholders,” said Prysmian CEO Massimo Battaini. “Thanks to the complementary fit of Encore Wire with Prysmian’s existing North American business, we will be better placed than ever to address customers’ needs across the dynamic, highly efficient and growing North American market, while ensuring we are best placed to capture the structural growth opportunities which are being driven by digitalisation and energy infrastructure. There is also a strong cultural fit between Encore Wire and Prysmian because of our shared spirit of innovation and commitment to accelerate the transition towards a low carbon economy. ”

“With the successful completion of the transaction with Prysmian, we are ready to begin an exciting new chapter in our company’s history” said Encore Wire CEO Daniel L. Jones. “I am grateful for the hard work and commitment of our employees and proud of the remarkable value Encore Wire has created with our expansive single-campus model, low-cost production, centralized distribution and product innovation. Encore Wire and Prysmian are two highly complementary organizations, and we look forward to leveraging our enhanced product offerings and strong customer relationships to drive even greater opportunities as part of a larger, global organization.”

The Lesjӧfors Group has increased its spring and pressing operations in Eastern Europe with the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Poland alongside an existing plant that is part of Alcomex, its subsidiary.

A press release said that the new production site in Marki, Poland, divides the custom-made tension and torsion spring manufacturing specialisms across two dedicated sites and enables the production and assembly of increased spring volumes, in line with customer demand. “Acquisitions are a core part of the Lesjӧfors growth strategy,” said Lesjӧfors Group CEO Ola Tengroth. He noted that the company has more than 50 production and technical sales offices in Europe, America and Asia, and is “actively looking to acquire more spring manufacturers.”

At the Alcomex website, the Holland-based company notes that it has more than 300 spring employees in nine locations: Opmeer (Netherlands), Moravany u Brna (Czech Republic), Goch (Germany), Marki (Poland), Nędza (Poland), Paris (France), Pune (India), Sibiu (Romania) and Valencia (Spain). It manufactures door springs and industrial springs through its operating brands Alcomex, HZ Solutions and VIOD. Founded in 1992, the company was bought by Lesjӧfors in 2021. 

The Lesjӧfors press release said that investments have also been made at Alcomex’s standard stock door spring operation in Pune, India. That includes advances in cutting-edge technology, production lines, storage and shipping facilities.